In the quest for lower noise, the power supply section was redesigned to implement an RF-suitable voltage regulator with under 10 µVRMS of noise. That is at least 10x lower than other designs!

A quality shielded inductor was used in the power supply to improve EMI rejection.

The included aluminum enclosure ensures stray EMI stays where it belongs--away from the sensitive RF circuitry.

Lower board-level temperatures further improves the SDR noise floor.

Temperature improvements:

A custom heatsink is affixed to the primary PCB with 3M thermal adhesive, to wick heat away from the circuit board and towards the enclosure.

2 pieces of silicone thermal pad spread the rest of the heat away from the device hot spots.

Power consumption has been reduced by an average of 10mA, which means less heat is generated compared to other designs.

The result is much lower board-level temperatures--increasing stability, improving sensitivity and ensuring maximum frequency range capability. The changes were first simulated, and then field-tested with a Flir E8.

Form factor improvements:

The NESDR SMArt was designed to minimize annoying USB port occlusion. We re-designed the SDR from the ground up to ensure the SMArt can be used side by side in any USB-compliant device, including tightly-spaced embedded devices. There is no need to remove the enclosure to run multiple SDRs beside one another!

The form factor re-design allowed us to move to the more universal SMA antenna input.

Antenna improvements:

The included antenna has been redesigned with a wider base to ensure physical stability with the included longer telescopic antenna mast

A stronger magnet in the antenna base facilitates a wide range of mounting options

Low-loss RG58 feed cable is used instead of higher-loss RG316 and RG174

Feed cable increased to 2m (6.5') for easier installations

Male SMA connector on the antenna cable for easy connectivity to the NESDR SMArt and other SMA-input RF devices

Three antenna masts are now included! A telescopic mast with a variable frequency capability, a fixed frequency 433MHz (ISM) antenna mast, and a fixed frequency UHF (GSM) antenna mast

Included:

NESDR SMArt SDR w/ brushed aluminum enclosure

Antenna base w/ 2m RG58 cable

Telescopic antenna mast (variable frequency)

433MHz (ISM) antenna mast (fixed frequency)

UHF antenna mast (fixed frequency)

SDR Specifications:

RTL2832U Demodulator/USB interface IC

R820T2 tuner IC

0.5PPM, ultra-low phase noise TCXO

RF-suitable voltage regulator

Shielded primary inductor

Integrated custom heatsink

Female SMA antenna input

High-quality black brushed aluminum enclosure

Through-hole direct sampling pads on PCB

SDR TCXO Specifications:

Frequency stability: 0.5PPM (max)

Phase noise @1kHz offset: -138dBc/Hz (or better)

Phase noise @10kHz: -150dBc/Hz (or better)

Phase noise @100kHz: -152dBc/Hz (or better)

Antenna Specifications:

Wide base with super-strong magnet within base for easy mounting

Low-loss RG58 feed cable

2m (6.5') cable, twice as long as most low cost SDR antennae

Heatshrinked male SMA connector for direct connection to the SDR or our other SMA-connected accessories like the Ham It Up

Additional Info

Additional Info

SKU

100700

USB Interface IC

RTL2832U

Tuner IC

R820T2

Frequency Range (approximate)

25MHz - 1750MHz

TCXO clock

Yes

Antenna Connector Type

SMA Female

Antenna Included?

Yes

Remote Included?

No

Additional Accessories

3 antenna masts for included antenna base

Reviews

Cool PerformerReview by Doyle

Performance

Value

Quality

Good reception. Antennas work great. There was a troposphere ducting inversion last week on the 162mhz NOAA Weather Radio band. So I tried this dongle on it. It brought in a weather station 210 miles or 338km from me. On a normal day i see 3 other distant NOAA stations on the waterfall (35-65 miles). That's with the 433mhz ISM antenna which is the longer air coiled whip.

This dongle's 0.5ppm TCXO is solid. Happiness can begin at zero when the ppm offset sticks to zero in Unitrunker's auto drift correction on various voice frequencies.

On ADS-B using the telescoping whip all the way down, indoors, I can see planes up to 80 miles away.

The custom power supply and filters help it a lot.The R820T/T2 tuner chip inside is actually a excellent performer but it's limited by the the dongle's ADC which only allows 7-8 bits resolution. Still enough there to use.

It works well for me on FM Broadcast with stereo demodulation. Can receive FM Broadcast relays which are weaker than parent transmitters.

Its design is very sturdy. Held together by 4 screws. Two on each end. SMA connector is bolted down tight. Feels like a tiny metal brick.

As far as heat, it depends if you use the RTL Tuner Gain or not. If you use it it'll get warm to the touch but not to warm to handle. If you do not use any automatic gains it barely gets warm. That does depend on your room's ambient temperature. Certainly cooler than the Nooelec Mini (The first version of the R820T in which mine are 3 years old and still working).

For UHF I got best results using the smallest antenna with RTL AGC ON and manual gain at 32 dbm. It kept a little warm. Signals came in good.

I hope you enjoy this little SDR as much as I am.

(Posted on 3/11/2017)

Fine NESDR SMArtReview by Hans

Performance

Value

Quality

top product, cheap but very good quallity. (Posted on 3/6/2017)

SolidReview by Richard - K9WG

Performance

Value

Quality

Solid built and solid performance. SMA connector is a big plus. A little difficult to set up and use (all software issues) but I expected that. For the price you can't beat it as an entry level SDR. (Posted on 12/15/2016)

ExcellentReview by radiofalken

Value

Quality

Performance

Quick delivery. Works with gqrx-sdr on my Debian Jessie (Nonfree) box
Be sure to do "lsusb" and check for the "Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T" entry.
If it's not there, you are missing firmware, installing package "rtl-sdr" should fix that. (Posted on 9/20/2016)

Dings: No provided Mac/Linux software. And since the unit is destined to be connected to a Raspberry Pi, the lack of Linux software is going to be a pain. Second - it runs rather warm so I'm a bit worried about lifespan. (Posted on 8/9/2016)

Works very well!Review by Wolfgang Termy

Quality

Performance

Value

I live in Germany and i am excited about the product . The metal case is well screened , get only hand warm and the three antennas can be changed via the adapter quickly . The antenna cable is 2 m long enough up to the antenna . The only negative point is that there was no information sheet or guidance with it and software and driver y has to search via the Internet cumbersome . If it is installed ( I use GQRX-SDR) it works fine and i am happy to scan the wide range of Frequency. Thanks for the great Product. (Posted on 8/7/2016)